By Eric on 2006-04-07

Apr 07, 2006

Ray Fong! Can I say Ching Chong Ching Chong? I bet they’d get mad. It’s great to see how art is getting mixed more and more with commerce, and how the ignorant want to jump on imagery that’s delighting their senses. Do I have an opinion? Yes, Ray Fong being Barry McGee is an artist, the Ray Fong Chinaman design is a mockery of the long running image of the Chinaman. I used to draw this on my notebooks in more of empowerment and reappropriating a racist image. But in the end, those who are offended are stuck in a quandary, would they rather have a half Chinese American use this image or would they like to see it done by someone else? Does it make it ok? That’s just two sides. The third side is that it’s an artwork by an internationally known artist who is not racist.

Ok enough said. The Ray Fong show at GR2 has a remnant. The lit Ray Fong sign still hangs in the store flashing, but no one says a thing.